Asociación de la condición física auto-reportada durante el embarazo con diversos marcadores de salud materno-fetal

Abstract

Pregnancy is a physiological stage in a woman’s life that involves adaptive changes in order to fulfill the demands of the growing new life. Therefore, the study of the effect of the mother’s lifestyle, including being physically active, on certain maternal and fetal health markers becomes essential. Physical fitness is considered a powerful health marker in different general populations (i.e., childhood, adulthood and elderly) and specific populations (i.e., women during perimenopause, people with fibromyalgia and other conditions). Consequently, physical fitness assessment is considered an important prevention and diagnosis tool. Likewise, physical activity and well-designed and adapted exercise programs during gestation means less risk of developing pregnancy-related complications or diseases. Unfortunately, pregnant women do not meet the physical activity and exercise recommendations during pregnancy, including Spanish pregnant women. This International Doctoral Thesis provides evidence on the positive impact of greater physical fitness levels on several pregnancy-related outcomes, and highlights the efficacy of being enrolled in a well-designed concurrent exercise program during pregnancy as a strategy to provide a healthier and less risky gestational period. The use of physical fitness, especially self-reported physical fitness, is proposed as a clinical and practitioners tool to discriminate among pregnant women at risk of pregnancy-related complications. Health providers should promote and encourage pregnant women to be physically active during gestation.